


Aequitas

by arashianelf



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Gen, police!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-21
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-18 22:05:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3585714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arashianelf/pseuds/arashianelf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Justice is subjective. Trust is a fickle thing. What would you be willing to sacrifice for the greater cause?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> First off, I personally think the summary is kinda bad. I couldn't think of anything to use as a proper summary. So, you can have this one. I have worked on this fic on and off for maybe two months, one? Here's the prologue, but the actual chapters won't be uploaded until I actually know what I'm trying to get to - this fic is confusing even myself trying to plan it out. So yes, prologue first, chapters way later. I hope you do look forward to the chapters after reading the prologue. Stay tuned for more! Also, much thanks to coolohoh, who has been and will be a great help to me for writing this fic!
> 
> Disclaimer: Arashi does not (sadly) belong to me.

 

“Sho-chan, don’t do this,” Aiba pleaded. The warehouse echoed with Aiba’s words. The others stood around him, facing the person that was once their close friend.

“You know I have to. This has gone too far,” Sho said, deathly calm.

“Sho-chan, please,” Jun took a step towards Sho, and the gun swung towards Jun. The safety clicked off. “Don’t move!” Sho yelled, “Don’t move or I’ll shoot!”

Jun froze in place. Behind him, Toma made a soft sound, and Sho aimed at him instead.

“I mean it! Don’t do anything!” he yelled again.

“We’re not doing anything, Sho-chan, okay? See?”  Nino slowly holstered his gun. He gestured for the rest to do the same. Slowly, under Sho’s wary eyes, they holstered their guns. “Sho-chan, you have to let us help you,” Ohno said. “I don’t need help! All I need is for you to die! All of you!” Sho screamed.

“Sho-chan-“ Toma spoke up, but was cut off by Sho. “Don’t talk to me, Ikuta! So you’re my replacement? How does it feel, huh? How does it feel to be unable to ever match up to me? Did you feel disappointed? Disgusted?” Sho mocked. Toma’s fists clenched.

“Sho-chan…” Nino murmured. “Nino, you won’t understand! All of you won’t understand! Do you know how terrible it feels to have your team turn their backs on you? You don’t! And I’ve had to suffer through months of you guys hunting me down, and for what? That _thing_ you call justice?” Sho sneered. His hands came up, holding the gun.

“There is no justice here,” he said, “Or at least, the justice that the government claims is right. The only justice here, is what we truly believe that is right.”

He aimed, and pressed the trigger.

-

His hands shook. Why had he been singled out? He knew why.

He saw the look in his master’s eyes. He knew what he had to do, but he didn’t want to do it.

He aimed, closed his eyes, whispered a soft ‘sorry’ and pressed the trigger.

Two shots rang out clearly, echoing around the warehouse.

Two people toppled.

“Sho-chan!”  



	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I have finished this! This will be a short story, only four chapters. Even though I've finished writing it, I'll be posting it chapter by chapter. Chapter one is here, and the rest will be after my exams finish, which are starting tomorrow. If you liked this chapter, stay tuned for more! Comments and criticism are greatly appreciated! Also, many thanks to coolohoh, who has been a great help to me for writing this fic, acting as my sounding board and beta! <3
> 
> Disclaimer: Arashi does not (sadly) belong to me.

_Footsteps echoed as a man ran down a narrow alleyway, constantly turning his head to look behind him. “Turn right in fifty metres,” a voice said, coming from the wireless earpiece in his ear. The man did so, turning a sharp right._

_Behind him, he heard the footsteps brake and picked up speed, hoping to shake off his tail. A few minutes later, after he passed another alleyway on his right, he heard a thump and the sound of footsteps behind him stop. As he turned around and bent over trying to catch his breath, panting with his hands on his knees, a man beamed up at him, with a struggling man under him._

_Behind him, he heard someone else run up. “Hurry up and handcuff the suspect already,” the man behind him said, then turning to the panting man. “Good job in acting as bait,” he said. Sho opened his mouth to reply, and-_

-woke up. It took a while for him to register his surroundings, the room that had been his home for the past three days. He would have to move to another hotel soon. He sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, turning to the bedside table to put on the wireless earpiece. “Good morning, Master,” he said. “Good morning, Sakurai-kun,” a computerized voice said.

“What are my orders for today?” Sho stood up and started pulling on his shirt, hoodie and jeans, a stark difference from the suits he used to wear. “None for now. You are free to do whatever you want. Just as long as you remember the rules,” the voice replied. “Yes, Master,” Sho acknowledged the order.

He wore his face mask, looking in the mirror to ensure that he couldn’t be recognized. After doing so, he grabbed his wallet, phone and room key, closing the door behind him. He walked out of the hotel, heading towards a specific park.

As he walked, he observed the people around him, as was his habit, and pondered upon the fact that once upon a time he would be staring at a computer right at that moment, analyzing details about their suspects and trying to find motives for why their victim was killed. Right now, someone else was doing that job for them, and Sho knew exactly who that was. He had plans for that person when he would be able to make his move.

But he couldn’t. Not just yet. He had to wait for a while more. He reached the park, walking to a specific tree near the center of the park. The tree wasn’t anything special, just a normal tree that people see on the streets. After glancing around, Sho pulled himself up onto the lowest branch, which was just above his head.

Years of training had built up his strength, and he was able to pull himself up with ease. He pulled himself up another branch, and there he found the rope ladder that led to their hideout. He hoped that ‘Master’ didn’t find out about this location. It was his secret. ‘Master’ kept track of where he was all the time, but Sho hoped that he didn’t have time to check too often.

He quickly climbed the ladder, the ease of his climb showing the familiarity he had with climbing the rope ladder. The ladder was tied to one of the main thick branches, and Sho climbed onto the branch and moved closer to the large trunk of the tree, where there was a hole, that had developed as the tree had grown.

Aiba had been the one to find it, back when they were trainees. He liked to climb trees for fun to train himself, and he’d stumbled upon this. He’d dragged the rest of them here to look at it, but the toughness of the climb made him decide to make a rope ladder and tie it to the branch so that the climb up was easier.

Sho reached into the hole and pulled out a slip of paper. Opening it and reading it, he folded one of the corners and folded it back up, putting it back onto the hole. He then made the climb down. He calmly walked away and brushed away a few leaves from his hair. The whole thing had only taken fifteen minutes. Hopefully ‘Master’ hadn’t noticed.

He made his way out of the park and walked to a nearby café that he frequented when ‘Master’ had no jobs for him. “Sho-kun, welcome! Your usual?” the girl tending the cashier called as he entered. “Of course, Naka-san,” Sho smiled behind the face mask. He moved to one of the tables facing the street, his usual spot.

As one of the waitresses, Ayaka-san, served his macchiato and said, “I haven’t seen the others lately, when are they going to come and visit us?” Sho laughed and replied, “I don’t know, Ayaka-san. I’ll have to ask them.” Ayaka nodded with a smile and turned on the spot, heading back to the counter. As soon as Ayaka’s back was to Sho, his smile faded. It had been four months of no contact, four months since he had turned on the people that were once his family.

It had been painful, but Sho had done it for a very good reason. He shook his head slightly to get rid of these gloomy thoughts, and started thinking about which hotel he should move to next. He normally stayed in a hotel for only four to five days, occasionally three days when he felt like it. The constant moving was hell on his bank account. He hoped that he had enough money to survive.

‘Master’ had promised a certain amount of money in exchange for the jobs that he did for him, but Sho didn’t know when that support would end. Until then, he would survive on the money that ‘Master’ provided him and his own savings. Worst come to worst, he would go to some people he knew that would be willing to lend him some money.

He had to make it through this. He had to see his family safe. Sho’s hand unconsciously fisted as he thought. He hadn’t been given a choice, but he would at least see that no one else would be harmed. That had been the deal.

His thoughts were broken by the computerized voice. “Sakurai-san, I have a new job for you,” it said. “Go ahead, ‘Master’,” Sho replied. As ‘Master’ relayed the details for his next job, Sho finished the rest of his macchiato and left the empty cup there with some notes, waving goodbye towards the waitresses.

He wouldn’t be able to come back for a while. He had a job to do.

-

“Nino, any luck on the drowning case?” Jun walked to Nino’s desk, leaning against the edge. “None,” Nino said, focusing intensely on his computer. “What are you even focusing on?” Jun grumbled, leaning to take a look at what he was doing. An audible smack was heard. “Playing video games? On duty? Nino, we have work to do!” Jun scolded.

Aiba laughed. Beside him, Toma smiled. “They never change, huh?” Toma asked Aiba. “Yeah!” Aiba laughed. “Oh right, Toma, you were a solo agent for a while, right?” Aiba asked. At Toma’s nod, he continued, “Well, what made you decide that you wanted to come onto this team?”

Toma replied, “I’ve always wanted to be on a team. When a space opened up for this team, I was on a case, so I couldn’t apply for it. After my case was finished up, I was surprised that the position was still open, so I applied for it.” “Ah,” Aiba said sheepishly. “What, what?” Toma asked curiously. “They either couldn’t make it through the vigorous training we go through or couldn’t handle the way our team works. They do call us ‘eccentric’, after all,” Jun said, done with scolding Nino.

“Ever since we’d lost one member, Nino had to do both analyzing and strategy, so it’s really good to have you on board, Toma-kun,” he continued. “Ah, well, it’s nothing,” Toma rubbed the back of his neck. “You would probably lose if you went up against-“ Aiba was cut off by the entrance of their team leader, Ohno.

“Ah, Oh-chan! Come look at the progress we made on the drowning case!” Aiba changed the topic quickly, gesturing excitedly for their leader to come over. Ohno did so, shuffling over and yawning. “Look, the forensic pathologist found traces of methamphetamine in the victim’s bloodstream, which proves that she was probably high when she died,” Aiba showed him.

“Check if it’s related to that drug trafficking case we got a few months back,” Ohno said, reading through the autopsy report briefly. Aiba nodded, bouncing away to do his job. “Good morning, Toma-kun,” he yawned as he passed him, giving him a small pat on the shoulder. Ohno headed for his desk, slumping into his chair as if his strings were cut.

“Good morning, Ohno-kun,” Toma greeted. Jun snorted and walked back to his desk. “Just call him Riida, that’s what we all do. It’s either that or Oh-chan,” Jun said. “Okay,” Toma said, nodding. He turned back to his laptop and got back to work on analyzing the possible motives for the different cases the team were handling right now.

-

‘Master’ turned on the program that would allow him to communicate with his pets once his laptop had booted up. The program that he had coded from scratch would allow him to access any electronic device and use it as a phone. He installed an electronic voice so that his pets could not recognize him should they accidentally bump into each other on the streets and make conversation.

He knew that he was treading a fine line between getting caught and succeeding in his plan. He was so close… He just needed more time. Time that he knew someone could and would give. He smiled. He had a job to give to his latest pet.

-

In an empty apartment, books were laying around on the coffee table in disarray. The bed was unmade, the dishes left to dry were not kept, and somewhere in the apartment an open window allowed the cool breeze in, ruffling the open envelope, letter and photos that lay near the books.


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My exams are finally over! I'll be posting the rest of this story over these few days, so stay tuned! Here's Chapter Two for now! Comments and criticism are greatly appreciated! Also, many thanks to coolohoh, who has been a great help to me for writing this fic, acting as my sounding board and beta! <3
> 
> Disclaimer: Arashi does not (sadly) belong to me.

“That’ll be 90000 yen,” Sho said to the man in front of him. The alley was dimly lit by the streetlights, and stank of rubbish. “Can’t I have it a little cheaper? I don’t have enough money right now,” the shabbily dressed man pleaded. “90000 yen. Take it or leave it,” Sho said coldly.

After a moment, Sho pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against and began to make his way out. “Wait!” the man shouted, “I’ll pay.” Sho walked back to the man and collected the money, counting the paper bills out before handing a syringe to the man.

The man injected it into the crook of his elbow immediately, dropping the syringe. Sho pocketed the money and left the man slumped against the alley wall, heading back out to join the crowd, but not before ensuring that his face mask was still in place.

“You still have a few more stops to make. Turn right in another two blocks,” ‘Master’ said. “Yes, Master,” Sho replied, following his orders obediently. This was his job every night, helping ‘Master’ deal out drugs to the homeless and the occasional businessman.

Sho sighed. He had to deal with people like them every day, but he still could not get used to the way they pleaded for him to give them the drugs they wanted as if he was their God. He tried to interact with them with a certain detachment, but after a while, it just got to him. Ah well, he sighed. He hoped that ‘Master’ was almost done with him. However, he dreaded the thought of what would happen after ‘Master’ had nothing else for him to do.

-

“We’ve got a lead on the drug trafficking case!” Nino shouted across the office. “What leads?” Jun asked. “A homeless man made a report saying that a man wearing a face mask and a grey hoodie gave him his daily fix,” Nino read off his computer. “The grey hoodie we spread the word for them to look out for?” Aiba asked.

“Yeah. Our plainclothes went undercover and asked him where he got the drugs from,” Nino said. “That grey hoodie?” Ohno said quietly. Nino nodded solemnly. “He could not see the face of the man, however, as he was wearing a face mask,” Nino continued. Jun and Aiba exchanged a glance that Toma caught. “That’s all we’ve got for now,” Nino said. The rest nodded. Toma turned and headed back to his seat.

Once he was out of earshot, Nino told the other three quietly, “He also had another defining quality. He had sloping shoulders.” “Jun’s mouth thinned. “It’s him, then,” Ohno said. “We’ll have to keep even more of a lookout for him. We have to corner him somehow,” Jun said. The rest nodded, and then returned to their seats.

-

‘Master’ heard the conversation, and thought quickly. He would have to get his pet some new clothes. If his hoodie could be recognized, then maybe it would be worth it to get his pet a new set entirely just for his jobs. It wasn’t yet time for his pet to be caught yet, he still had many plans for him. Yes, he thought, new sets of clothes would be worth the result.

-

“Sakurai-kun,” ‘Master’ said. “Yes, Master,” Sho replied, walking down a street.

“I’ve left some clothes for you in an alleyway. The directions are being sent to your phone. You are to wear that set of clothes for any job that is given to you from now on. Other sets will be left for you later on to evade the attention of your friends,” ‘Master’ told him.

“Yes, Master,” Sho said, following the directions that led him to the alleyway. He found a plastic bag on the ground in the alleyway, and picked it up, leaving the alleyway. “You’ll wear this starting tomorrow. For now, you have some free time, about an hour, before I will give you your next job,” ‘Master’ said.

“Yes, thank you, Master,” Sho said. The voice in his ear clicked off, and Sho breathed. One hour would be enough to check if there was anything left for him at their tree. He hadn’t checked it in a fortnight, but he would today. He quickly set off for his destination.

It took him forty minutes to get there, and he quickly went through the familiar routine and climbed the tree. He noticed a slip of paper there, waiting for him. He smiled and opened the piece of paper, reading through it. Drawing a pen out of his pocket, he quickly took out a pen from his pocket, scribbling a reply and placing it back into the hole before quickly making his way down.

As he walked out of the part, his earpiece emitted a clicking sound. “Sakurai-san, here is your next job,” ‘Master’ said. Eyes visibly hardening, Sho replied, “Yes, Master.”

-

Three days later, Sho woke up in yet another hotel room, and looked at the date. He frowned. “It’s been exactly four months,” he thought. Sighing, he got ready for the day and headed out to get some coffee.

As he was collecting his coffee from a café nearby, his earpiece emitted a click sound. “I have a job for you. Are you wearing your new set of clothes?” ‘Master’ enquired. “Yes, Master,” Sho replied. “Excellent. Here is your next job. You are to go to a location that I will later give you and help me collect some profits. They will most likely put up a fight. However, I don’t care how, just get the money from them. Details will be sent to you now,” ‘Master’ told him.

Sho inwardly groaned. Out of all the jobs, he hated this one the most. “Understood,” he replied, and scrolled through the details on his phone. He wore his face mask again and left the café, throwing away the empty coffee cup on the way out.

He made his way to a warehouse at the docks and pulled the door open. Six beefy guys looked up from the table in the middle of the warehouse and frowned. “What business do you have here?” one of them demanded.

“A certain someone sends his respects and asks for his share of the profit,” Sho replied. “He gets no share of the profits, given that he doesn’t even bother to come by himself,” one of them snarled. “Well, identities must be kept a secret,” Sho smiled behind the mask.

“Until he himself shows up, we’ll give him none of the profit,” another said. “Well then,” Sho cracked his knuckles, “I have my orders to take it by force.” The six guys snorted. “You? Take on the six of us? Know your place, boy,” they approached him, looming over him menacingly.

“We’ll have to see who remains standing, then,” Sho smirked. As the six guys attacked as one, Sho slipped into a fighting mindset, quickly analyzing their weakness as he dodged their attacks. He kept on dodging until the guys were all tired out and attacking him frustratedly before he made his move.

He burst into action, aiming for their solar plexus, a weak joint, a sensitive area, anywhere that he could identify a weakness. When he was done, he stood in the middle of the six guys, who had collapsed while groaning in pain and clutching their injured limbs or areas.

“I’ll be taking this,” Sho said, stepping over them and packing away all the money into two duffel bags. He slung them over his shoulder and left the warehouse, whistling. “Excellent work, Sakurai-kun. Place the bags in the usual location and you’ll have free time for the rest of the day. I’ll have more work for you at night, so be sure to rest,” ‘Master’ said.

Yes, Master,” Sho said. He headed for the location that he usually dropped off and picked up things for the jobs, and placed the bags down. After that, he quickly left the area, wanting to make full use of his free time.

He walked past his usual café, noting that it was lunch hour. Glancing around as he walked past, his step faltered as he noticed a familiar back. He changed direction and walked into the café. The waitresses were too busy to say hello to him, and he joined the queue before it grew any longer.

Already, the queue was just about to snake out of the door. As he took a step forward, someone bumped into him on his way out. The queue moved sluggishly, and when Sho next glanced at the table the person he’d noticed was sitting at, someone else was occupying the table.

-

‘Master’ typed in a command on his computer, finalizing his plans for the last few jobs he would give his pet. It was time for the final stage of his plan.

He had set the ball rolling four months ago, and now it was time to end something that was a long time coming. His pet’s friends might know what his pet was up to, but did they know what he was planning?

-

“Sakurai-kun,” the familiar voice of ‘Master’ said. It was about a week after Sho had seen the familiar person in the café that he frequented.

“Yes, Master?” Sho replied, scrolling aimlessly through a news website on his laptop in the hotel room he was currently camped out in.

“It’s time for your final job, Sakurai-kun! After this last job, you’ll be free!” ‘Master’ informed him cheerily. Sho froze, processing the words. “L-last job, Master?” Sho stammered.

“Yes, your last job,” ‘Master’ confirmed.

Sho fell silent, thinking. “What’s my last job, then, Master?” Sho asked after a moment. “Your last job is to do the following…” ‘Master’ said.

As ‘Master’ informed him about his last job, Sho had one thought racing through his mind on repeat.

_It’s time._


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel so unused to posting so soon after my last post XD
> 
> Disclaimer: Arashi does not (sadly) belong to me.

A bell tinkled merrily as Sho stepped into a café he did not recognize, in an area of town where he normally never went, wearing his grey hoodie, loose pants, a pair of sneakers and his usual face mask.

He approached the counter and paid, ordering a cup of coffee along the way. He looked at the security camera fixed inconspicuously in one of the corners of the establishment, glancing to the right twice before sitting down at one of the computers the internet café offered.  
Opening up a web browser, he typed in a familiar URL and cracked his knuckles, getting to work.

-

Alarms blared across the building as warning lights flashed. Agents ran through the building to get to the main control room. When everyone had finally assembled, the director ran a critical eye over every single agent.

“Good response timing for an impromptu alarm drill,” he commended, “You may now return to your stations.” The agents broke rank and returned to their stations as ordered. “Arashi team, please stay back,” the director said.

The five of them did as they were bidden, staying behind and letting the other agents stream out of the room.

“The alarm that sounded just now was not a drill. Someone tried to hack into our network, and if I might say, he did so successfully. Our agents were able to trace it to a location that will be sent to your inboxes. You might want to set off now. A van has been prepared for you,” the director informed them.

Nodding, they ran off to get the necessary equipment, while Nino trailed behind. “Ninomiya-san,” the director called.

“Yes, Director,” Nino replied. “I’m trusting that you guys won’t fail us,” the director said.

“We won’t, Director, that I can assure you. We have been waiting for this day for a while now and have planned for it as much as we can,” Nino assured him. Nodding, the Director dismissed him.

-

Sho sat back in his chair in front of the chair and waited. After half an hour, he deemed it long enough and packed up, finishing his coffee. He waited for a while more, until a familiar van appeared at the end of the street.

He stood up and exited the internet café, bending down to adjust his shoelaces just as the van screeched to a stop a distance away.

“Now for part 2 of the plan,” Sho murmured to himself, straightening. He then broke out into a run, hearing the van doors slide open and footsteps behind him. He navigated the streets with ease, leading them in circles around the neighbourhood before turning down a new corner and leading the people in pursuit to a new area that littered with run-down warehouses.

‘Master’ spoke up ever so often to help direct him in another direction that would help him prolong the chase, and eventually when ‘Master’ gave him the okay, ran towards a warehouse that was at a distance from the others, running into it and slamming the large doors shut, running to the other end of the warehouse and slamming the door on that side shut as well.

Then, he stood in the middle of the warehouse and waited. He was not kept waiting for a long time as the doors banged open a short while later, the people pursuing him panting heavily.

As they took steps forward, Sho took the same number of steps backwards, until the last two members that he was expecting appeared, guns in hand. Then, he took out a gun from its holster on his belt and aimed it at them, speaking.

“Stay right where you are, or I will shoot you,” he said calmly, his pounding heart betraying him. “Sho-kun,” Jun started, and Sho changed the angle of the muzzle of the gun slightly, lining it up with Jun’s heart.

“I’m not joking. Don’t make a sound, don’t move. Just stay where you are,” Sho said.

“Sho-chan, don’t do this,” Aiba pleaded, and Sho aimed at him instead, clicking the safety off.

The warehouse echoed with Aiba’s words and the click of the safety being turned off, loud in the silence of the environment. The others stood around him, facing the person that was once their close friend.

“You know I have to. This has gone too far,” Sho said, deathly calm. “Sho-chan, please,” Jun took a step towards Sho, and the gun swung towards Jun again.

“Don’t move!” Sho yelled, “Don’t move or I’ll shoot!” Jun froze in place.

Behind him, Toma made a soft sound, and Sho aimed at him instead. “I mean it! Don’t do anything!” he yelled again.

“We’re not doing anything, Sho-chan, okay? See?” Nino slowly holstered his gun. He gestured for the rest to do the same. Slowly, under Sho’s wary eyes, they holstered their guns. “Sho-chan, you have to let us help you,” Ohno said.  
“I don’t need help! All I need is for you to die! All of you!” Sho retorted immediately. “Sho-chan-“ Toma spoke up, but was cut off by Sho.

“Don’t talk to me, Ikuta! So you’re my replacement? How does it feel, huh? How does it feel to be unable to ever match up to me? Did you feel disappointed? Disgusted?” Sho mocked.

Toma’s fists clenched. “Sho-chan…” Nino murmured. “Nino, you won’t understand! All of you won’t understand! Do you know how terrible it feels to have your team turn their backs on you? You don’t! And I’ve had to suffer through months of you guys hunting me down, and for what? That _thing_ you call justice?” Sho sneered.

His hands came up, holding the gun. “There is no justice here,” he said, “Or at least, the justice that the government claims is right. The only justice here, is what we truly believe that is right.”

He aimed, and pressed the trigger.

-

His hands shook. Why had he been singled out? He knew why.

He saw the look in his master’s eyes. He knew what he had to do, but he didn’t want to do it. He hoped the plan would go according to what they had expected.

He aimed, closed his eyes, whispered a soft ‘sorry’ and pressed the trigger.

Two shots rang out clearly, echoing around the warehouse.

Two people toppled.

“Sho-chan!”

"Toma-kun!"

-

“Get him… hospital… bleeding out…” Sho faded in and out of consciousness. When had he collapsed to the floor? Who had shot him? His grip on the gun tightened.

Did he achieve what he had set out to do?

Turning his head, he saw ‘Master’ on the floor, bleeding from a gunshot wound in the thigh, with three people surrounding him. Nino crouched next to him, applying pressure to his own gunshot wound in his abdomen.

“It’s fine now, Sho-kun. You can rest now,” Nino said gently. Sho sighed in relief, glad that it was done. He closed his eyes and welcomed the quiet darkness, leaving the sounds of sirens wailing behind.

-

Sho drifted to a state of semi-consciousness, aware of the people around his bedside. He could hear familiar voices, but could not summon the energy to call out to them. Exhausted, he fell asleep.

The next time he woke up, he opened his eyes blearily, but the room was dark. Softly sighing, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

When he awoke for the third time, he felt much more lucid. Looking around the room he was in, he recognized that he was in a hospital room and that daylight was streaming in through the window. He turned and saw Nino slouched in the chair next to his bed, sound asleep.

Reaching out a hand to shake him awake, something rattled against the bed frame and Sho looked down to see his hand handcuffed to the bed. The sound woke Nino up and he sat up straight once he’d noticed that Sho was awake.

“Sho-kun, you’re awake! How are you feeling?” Nino questioned him. “I don’t feel like I’m in pain,” Sho’s voice cracked. Nino grabbed a cup of water from the bedside table and helped Sho take a sip. “In fact, I feel great,” Sho continued.

“Well, that’s the morphine speaking. It’ll wear off in a while,” Nino said. “Great,” Sho sighed, “Well, let’s get started. Sitrep?”  
“The suspect has been apprehended, has received treatment and is currently awaiting his sentence in jail. Our teammates are… pissed off, for lack of a better way to phrase it. That, and betrayed. Also, the handcuff is just a safety precaution before we close the case,” Nino reported.

Sho winced. “I’ll have to apologise to them so much after all this is over, don’t I?” he sighed wearily. Nino nodded, “Unfortunately.”

“Well, we do owe them some explanations,” Sho replied. “Must I?” Nino whined. “If I’m going down, you’re coming with me, even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming,” Sho said sternly. “Ugh, fine. Oh, by the way, your personal belongings are all on the table,” Nino told him.

“Thanks. My other things are in here,” Sho gave Nino the hotel name and room number. Nino nodded, taking the room key from the bedside table.

“I’ll get them for you. For now, get some rest. The interrogations will start once you start recovering so you’d better rest as much as you can for now,” Nino told him. Sho sighed for the umpteenth time and nodded.

As Nino let himself out of the room, Sho slipped into sleep.

-

Over the next few days, as Sho recuperated in the hospital, he was interrogated by several agents while he was bedridden and still handcuffed to the bed, as previous attempts to get out of bed had the nurses threatening to strap him to the bed before he collapsed.

The full story slowly came out, until one day, instead of the usual agent who had come to interrogate him, the Director stepped into the room. Sho sat up as fast as he could, wincing as he pulled on his stitches.

“Director!” he greeted. “Sakurai-san,” the Director said, seating himself in the chair next to his bed. “Your efforts in this case have been noted, and the case has finally been considered closed. The suspect will be sent to jail without trial, for ten years on the counts of attempted homicide and others. Henceforth, you are once again your own man,” the Director said, brandishing a key and unlocking the handcuff.  
“Thank you, Director,” Sho said thankfully, rubbing his wrist. “That will be all for now, Sakurai-kun, but I do think you should expect an award coming your way soon,” the Director said mildly.

“Thank you, Director,” Sho repeated. “You shouldn’t thank me, Sakurai-kun. You earned the award through your own hard work,” the Director told him, making his way out of the hospital room.

Finally, two days after the Director’s visit, Sho was discharged from the hospital. Nino came to pick him up from the hospital, and waited as Sho changed, grabbed his things and signed the discharge papers.

“Have my parents been informed?” Sho asked as Nino wheeled him out of the hospital to a very familiar Pajero. “Your parents were told that you were in the hospital due to a misfire and was assured that we would take care of you,” Nino replied.

“I see. Wait, we?” Sho frowned in Nino’s direction. “They may be angry, but they still care for you. Expect to be mothered within an inch of your life. It’s sort of a payback for all the times you mothered us,” Nino snickered.

-

As they pulled up to Sho’s apartment building, Sho made no move to help Nino get him out of the car, staring at the building in trepidation. “Can we not go in?” Sho asked, tempted to beg. “Nope, time to face the music for the both of us! Don’t worry, they’re not here… yet.” Nino said cheerily.

Sighing, Sho helped Nino to get himself into the wheelchair and put his bag in his lap. Together, they entered the building to face their friends.


	5. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I nearly forgot I had to post this today XD Chapter four is up! The next one will be the epilogue of the story!
> 
> Disclaimer: Arashi does not (sadly) belong to me.

Sho stared.

And stared.

And stared.

The other three stared back, waiting. Nino shuffled into the room carrying a tray with five cups of tea, placing it on the table. As soon as Sho had returned home, he had done all his chores first with Nino’s help, his abdomen aching from the exertion.

It took a while, but the bed was finally made, the dishes were kept, and the books were arranged neatly on the coffee table. Only the letter, photos and envelope remained, where Sho refused to touch it. After doing the chores, Sho sank into the couch and took a much needed break.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Nino went to unlock the door and let them in. They settled down onto the couch opposite Sho while Nino went to get refreshments, which had led them to the current situation.

It took another moment of silence, but someone finally spoke. “Are you going to explain to us what has been going on all this while?” Jun asked quietly. Sho sighed, tension evident in the way he sat up straight.

“You’ll have to get it out one way or another, Sho-chan. Might as well start from the beginning,” Nino commented, taking a seat next to him and sipping at his tea. Sho sighed again, and began to speak.

-

_Sho came home one day after pulling long hours at the agency, and sifted through his mail as he went through the familiar motions of taking his shoes off at the genkan and putting on his indoor slippers, placing his work bag by the door._

_He found flyers, bills, and a plain envelope with a stamp and his name written across it. Curious, he placed the flyers in a pile of papers meant for recycling, and the bills in another stack to remind himself to pay them._

_He sat down on the couch heavily, and opened the envelope. Four photos fell out of it, along with a letter. Sho looked through the photos, and his blood froze. Quickly, he opened the letter and began reading it. After he read through the letter, he put it down and took out his phone to send a message to Nino._

_“It’s time,” was all the message read._

_About a week ago, Sho and Nino had been called into the Director’s office to take on a high-profile secret investigation._

_They were informed that there was a spy in the agency that was giving mercenaries weapon specs to build their own weapons, allowing them to trade them on the black market. He was also hiring mercenaries to take out foreign dignitaries in different countries, for reasons unknown. He had thus far eluded the agency and hence they needed the help of Sho and Nino to capture the rogue agent._

_Sho’s background before he joined the agency was not known by many people. Before the case was given to them and Nino told about Sho’s background, the only people that knew about it were the people that had recruited him and the Director himself._

_Sho used to be an agent on the field for the Imperial General Army, and specialized in infiltration. He was also an excellent strategist and had a strong athletic ability. Hence, he was hand-picked to be recruited into the National Security Agency._

_However, due to the confidentiality of the missions that Sho had been sent on during his time with the Army, not many people knew about his background. When Nino was told about his background, he looked at Sho again with assessing eyes._

_“So, I’m to infiltrate and find him? How?” Sho asked. “We would like you to send a coded message onto a forum that many mercenaries frequent online. We are sure that he will be looking for people to hire on that forum. It will definitely attract his attention that you are an agent that wants to go rogue._

_“Agent Ninomiya here will be your contact for the mission. However, there are certain restrictions. You cannot inform your other team members about this mission, as everyone not in this room is currently a suspect,” the Director informed him._

_“After the rogue agent has established contact with you, you are to cut off all ties with the agency and your teammates, with Nino being the only exception. You can discuss and decide how the two of you will remain in contact without anyone finding out by yourselves.  
“Once you have cut off all ties, we will be swapping in a list of solo agents that we think are likely to be the rogue agent. We have found out that the rogue agent has contacts with Russian mercenaries, so he or she will have to understand Russian._

_“That narrows down the list of possible rogue agents, and will be investigating them one by one thoroughly as they are brought into the team as a ‘replacement’,” the Director continued._

_Here, Nino asked for a list of the possible rogue solo agents, and the Director handed Nino a sheet of paper. Nino went through the list of people, looking to see if there were any familiar names that popped out at him. He froze when he finally saw a familiar name on the list._

_“Sho-kun, look at this,” Nino said, showing Sho the name. Sho’s eyes widened when he saw the name, and turned to the Director, requesting, “Can we please put him last? I don’t want to suspect him unless absolutely necessary.”  
The Director nodded. “I understand that you have been through the trainee program with him, and we will do so. The last thing I’d like to do is to break up friendships. Let’s just hope we’ll never have to bring him into the team,” the Director agreed._

_“Thank you, Director. Will that be all?” Sho asked. The Director nodded. “Before you carry out this mission, if you have any questions, please look for me. I will gladly respond to any queries you have,” the Director informed them, before dismissing them._

_Now, Sho had finally received the letter signifying that they had to start the mission. He had prepared himself beforehand, and now he grabbed the duffel bag that he had packed and his valuables, before leaving his apartment. It was time to execute the plan, and both Nino and Sho knew what to do._

-

“And well, you guys all know what happened after that. Nino and I kept in contact by leaving notes in our tree, and I checked it whenever I could. Oh, by the way, Nino, that last note passing was risky,” Sho ended, drinking the tea that Nino offered him. He leaned back into the sofa.

“Well, slights-of-hand always work. That’s why I bumped into you, remember?” Nino retorted. The three of them stared at Sho for a while longer, processing what Sho had told them and coming to their own conclusions.

Sho fidgeted more the longer the silence was drawn out, until the tension was finally broken by Jun sighing, “Well, at least there is a valid reason why you kept it from us.” With that, Sho finally relaxed and was immediately grabbed into a hug by Aiba.

“Sho-chan! I missed you!” he exclaimed. Sho struggled free of his embrace, eliciting laughter from his other teammates in the process. He then sat down back in his seat, sipping his tea as the other four chatted and teased each other, clothes rumpled. “I’ve missed this,” he sighed quietly.

Relaxing into the sofa, Sho let out a long breath and closed his eyes, but was quickly tackled by the others. He landed heavily on the floor while the other four dogpiled on him, groaning and laughing as the four bodies above him squirmed and poked each other, complaining and arguing.

“I haven’t missed that,” he thought to himself amusedly, trying to free himself from the clutches of his friends.


	6. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's the epilogue! The next story/oneshot will probably be a long time from now, depending on whether I get any inspiration... I still hope you will follow me on my journey! Thanks for reading, everyone!
> 
> Disclaimer: Arashi does not (sadly) belong to me.

Footsteps echoed as Sho ran down a narrow alleyway, constantly turning his head to look behind him. “Turn right in seventy metres, then take a left at the first alley you see,” Nino said, coming from the wireless earpiece in his ear. Sho did as he was told, turning a sharp right and then left when it was time.

Behind him, he heard the footsteps brake and picked up speed, hoping to shake off his tail. A few minutes later, after he passed another alleyway on his right, he heard a thump and the sound of footsteps behind him stop. As he slowed down, turned around and bent over trying to catch his breath, panting with his hands on his knees, Aiba beamed up at him, with a struggling man under him.

Behind him, he heard someone else run up. “Hurry up and handcuff the suspect already,” Jun said from behind him, then turned to the panting man. “Good job in acting as bait,” he said. Sho opened his mouth to reply, and panted out, “Can I not be bait next time?”

Jun glared at him playfully. “First mission back with us and you’re so out of shape. Guess you’re getting old, Sho-san,” their youngest teased.

“I’m not getting old! I just haven’t exercised in a while, that’s all,” Sho complained. “Oh, that’s all, is it?” Jun ribbed him.

“Alright, Aiba’s done. Let’s wrap it up and bring the suspect in,” Ohno interrupted their playful argument, from his perch on one of the rooftops. “Roger that, Leader!” Aiba said cheerfully, hauling the suspect up.

As they walked towards the van where Nino was camped out in, Ohno emerged from one of the buildings to join them as they chatted and tussled with each other, the suspect in handcuffs in front of them with all of them keeping a watchful eye on him.

Jun moved forward to help Aiba with the struggling suspect, while Sho and Ohno trailed behind, watching the two. “It’s good to be back,” Sho hummed. Looking at Ohno, he grinned. “It’s good to have you back,” Ohno replied, smiling briefly.

“Sho! Stop stealing my man!” Nino yelled from the van. “Who says he’s your man?” Sho yelled back, picking up speed to argue with Nino. Ohno maintained his casual pace, watching as his team members argued and generally had fun while doing their jobs.

It felt good to have the team back together. Humming a tune, he climbed into the van and slid the door shut, and the van drove off back to headquarters.

After dropping off the suspect and going through a debrief, the five of them went back to their respective homes to shower before gathering at Jun’s place. They had a noisy dinner and watched a few movies sprawled out around Jun’s living room.

As the time passed, Sho and Aiba remained the last two awake, while the credits rolled across the screen. They quietly moved around the apartment, cleaning up and turning off the necessary appliances, before joining the other three in the living room again and turning off the lights.

In the darkness, Sho whispered, “Tadaima.” No one replied him immediately, and Sho shrugged, thinking Aiba to be asleep already. However, a reply came right after Sho thought that.

“Okaeri, Sho-chan."

Sho smiled into the darkness and closed his eyes, letting himself drop into sleep.


End file.
